1) One Big Mistake, Game Over: Yve was voted-out. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

It sounds to me that getting rid of Yve was the smartest decision Alina, Chase, Benry and Na’Onka have agreed to work on. SURVIVOR is a cut-throat game and it’s better to slay the dragon before it’s too late and this dragon could swallow them alive.

Bias as it seems, I don’t want Yve to go. Her game plan was clearly going in the right direction before the tribal switch. It was in Episode 5 when Yve committed her biggest unforced error. She was not part of the numbers and sad to say, every little thing became hazy.

It’s not surprising to see Yve couldn’t fix the situation. She was getting paranoid and based on what I have seen in the editing, Yve was fighting hard. She was there talking with Holly, Alina and Na’Onka however, at the end of the day, Yve got uncertain to snake inside the numbers and that fear has devoured her.

2) Dan, the Quitter: There are two situations for Dan. He was either attempting to quit this game for real or this was only a show to get sympathy. If this was his strategy to stay on course, KUDOS to him. Dan does not need the money after all. He has nothing to lose. He was existing and he was clearly surviving despite of the knee-and-weather drama.

3) Benry threatened by Yve: I couldn’t blame Benry if he wanted to oust Yve. I have seen this scenario last week and I could also see Yve voting him out if Yve would have survived the cut.

Benry was one of this season’s power players, so is Yve. If these two power players live in one camp, you instantly expect a clash. It’s either they are against each other or they are protecting each other and Benry chose the former.

This was a proven fact already. Back in Heroes vs Villains, Boston Rob and Russel Hantz were two of the biggest power players in history who were forced to live in one camp. Russel pulled Parvati on his side but they were still outnumbered. Boston Rob couldn’t swallow his ego and it boiled down to him or Russel who must go home before the merge. Unfortunately, it was Boston Rob’s empire which was shattered.

Just like Russel Hantz, Benry only protected himself from a bigger threat. He was also well-aware of what’s happening around him and he seems in control covertly. Chase admitted he had a nice bond with Yve and Benry could have joined this circle to shake things up in Espada. However, Benry stayed loyal with his “young” alliance, which was a nice decision for the time being, to oust the listener.

There’s a slightest trace of betrayal though. Watch out for Chase. He’s still playing the game and he can probably blindside Benry or Alina when things begin to shift at his hands.

4) Big Moments for Holly & Jill: It’s quite a surprise that Jill and Holly have won this week’s Immunity Challenge. This was a well-earned win for Jill. She needed this necklace around her neck to avoid the chopping board and her way of saying “I AM HERE TO STAY!” As for Holly, she did not need it. She was safe with her kids. She knew it and by sticking with them, they can take her to the merge.

5) Brenda, Sash Control La Flor: This episode was all about Sash and Brenda. They were running the show and they were absolutely in much control. Brenda felt overconfident and she even lied in front of Marty during Tribal Council. Applause for Brenda for a very good move!!!

Marty was clearly fuming- he was shocked like Adam in the Garden of Eden upon realizing Eve had eaten the fruit of life. Marty’s nose turned very red and his level of anxiety was up in the sky. Marty was ready to go but expect the unexpected, he got very lucky despite of not using his idol. I’m not sure what the logic behind but Kelly B. took the fall after the tiebreaker.

My Overall Episode Rating: Although Yve was eliminated and my heart got broken, this was the first and exciting double-elimination episode since it started in Season 16 (correct me if I’m wrong). Therefore, it’s 9 of 10 stars!

There are many points I’d like to raise in this epi (prepare for a long one, LOL):

1. The highlight of this epi – Marty is STILL in the game. Like you, I am flabbergasted at what went down with the La Flor tribal council and cannot hide my excitement knowing that Marty is still in the game (yay!). It just shows you how dumb these players are and although they like to think they are playing smart and strategic, apparently they are not because the most strategic player in this game is still competing – spell M-A-R-T-Y. I do not understand their logic for not voting for Marty during the re-vote, maybe they thought he could use the idol?? But you can really tell the look of anxiety on Marty’s face during the re-vote cuz he probably thought his game was through. Just one tribal council that he was able to survive, and hopefully things will turn around at the next tribal./

2. Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. I don’t think it was a smart move. Although I think there is some logic behind that knowing that the other players are not too smart (read: Fabio and Kelly S). Are they even playing this game? Anyways, there was no point in Brenda lying aside from getting the others to vote him off. And yet, she did not write Marty’s name down during the re-vote, so he just ticked off someone and it is going to be a duel.

3. Yve. I can understand the other players’ point for voting her off, knowing that she is a bigger threat. But still, it is a tribal game at this point. If they decided to keep the weak player on the team, then sooner or later they would have to go back to tribal council and vote someone off!

4. Challenge was lousy. I really think they should leave the individual competition only after the merge. I’d rather for them go head to head on a puzzle challenge, than this?? Come on, I know the challenge producers can do better than this. But after 21 seasons, then it could be tough coming up with fresh ideas and make them interesting to the audience.

Yea I watched the last episode while hanging with some friends who had no interest in the show. So, from what I saw I thought Marty was the mastermind of him staying by pulling over Fabio. Looks as if I got the wrong impression since everyone is talking about Brenda and Sash making a big move. In that case I don’t understand why they would vote out Kelly B since the game really is two tribes (young and old). That move could come to haunt them especially since I’m sure in another episode or two another merge will happen. If you leave a guy like Marty around his seed can grow and turn the game back into his favor.

@Abby I like when they don’t have two merges. It really leaves the better players in a tough spot cause luck may not be on their side. Plus one merge lets two super power alliances go at it. The challenge was lousy. I like when they do puzzles or an endurance challenge, maybe some type of race.

@ Mike I agree. It was more about Marty being smart than Brenda and Sash’ move to oust him from the game. The irony of it all was that they kept on reiterating that it was still “young vs old” and yet when they split the vote, the other vote went for Kelly B. How strategic is that? And I don’t believe either that they trust Jane enough to bring her to the end?

I would also like to commend Marty’s decision to bring Fabio under his wing, because of all players out there, he was the easiest to sway and the most gullible.At least, he’s got one other person on his side. Now, they’re even with Fabio, Jill, and Marty on one side, Brenda, Sash, and Kelly Purple on the other, while Jane is right in the middle of it.

@Abby @Mike Cif 1) I have an idea why Brenda and her circle did not vote against Marty during the tiebreaker. I am just not sure if this is true. You know, if they would allow Kelly B to stay, there might be a bigger chance that she’ll switch sides. There’s no loyalty anymore and she might go with Jill and pull Flavio on her side to oust Brenda or Sash. Brenda and her circle made a great decision for choosing Marty to stay. That way, there will be no other threats that can lurk around.

2) Brenda did a great move. It’s a HOT one! (lol)

3) As I said in the post, my heart already got broken especially when Probst read the third vote 😦

4) The second part of the challenge was lousy. The first one was kinda interesting. It takes timing to shoot that ring into the basket-like container hang around your back. And as expected, Kelly Purple was nowhere to be found.

5) “If you leave a guy like Marty around his seed can grow and turn the game back into his favor.” – I would love to see that. Hopefully, you’re right! If Marty goes home, I’m down to 2 bets.

@Dean Excellent thinking. I did not see that but now that you explain why they did not vote for Marty during the re-vote, then it was a clearly strategic move. As they say, “better to have a certain enemy than a lousy friend”. In this case, Marty is the certain enemy, and Kelly B the latter. Applaude for them. Although they are still not safe because Marty is going to use every bit of strategy he knows to stay in the game. Ahh, I love how this is shaping up to be.

I still don’t get what is strategic about Brenda’s move, though. I think she was just trying to irk Marty. After all, Marty is right. They cannot vote off Jane since there is only two of them (Jill and Marty) and they are going to need the votes of the rest of the La Flor tribe to vote her off.

You know what, this seems funny but you are right. If only I am in SURVIVOR, I would rather have an enemy and the one who can flirt with me to get what she wants, especially when her name is Parvati Shallow.

Well I have one friend who watched like the first two episodes with me but none since and all he did was ask questions so I missed a lot then the other guys kept talking about other shows lol and I didn’t feel like watching it on cbs.com

If I was on the show I would have to be in control I wouldn’t be able to sit in the back but then Dean you brought up a good point lol

@Mike Cif Yeah, that’s right! You need to be in control but not in a very aggressive way like Marty did, who just got lucky for two episodes now. If I were you I would master the technique of being in control covertly.

[…] It was not as bad as what happened the previous season and it was not also as memorable as in Season 21. The Upolu 6 with their newly recruit double agent by the name of Cochran stayed loyal with each […]